Located ten miles northwest of Portsmouth is the once thriving town of McDermott.

The town was platted in 1898 by the McDermott Stone Company on acreage underlain by Ohio’s best sandstone deposit.

Brothers William and Michael McDermott had successfully quarried sandstone in the area on a small scale since the late 1850’s.

In 1897 they purchased land and several other quarry operations and combined them into a modernized operation under the auspices of the McDermott Stone Company.   

The company was incorporated in March of 1898 and mills were erected and railroad tracks were laid connecting the quarries to the main line of the Norfolk and Western Railway.

The operation was equipped with modern machinery and facilities so that the stone could be produced promptly and shipped in large quantities.

The stone produced had the reputation of being the highest quality in the nation and was shipped to markets from Boston to the Missouri River and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In the early 1900's Waller Brothers started quarrying stone in McDermott.

The limited applications during this period were for bridge stones and jail stones.

In the 1920's, Waller Brothers expanded their market into firestone and building stone.

Beginning in the 1930's, impregnated sandstone was developed with continuing research and development that is still going on today.

The Waller Brothers Stone Company is still in operation today producing construction materials, tables, laboratory Furniture, sills, table tops, mantelpieces and hearths.